7 family members, 6 others die in Enugu, Niger accidents

Thirteen persons, including seven members of the same family, died in two separate road accidents in Enugu and Niger states yesterday.

In Enugu State, a Toyota Carina E car with registration no CM 960 FKJ conveying a family and a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number ENU 75YY belonging to a mass transit company collided.

Seven family members and one other person died in a road accident which occurred at Ugwu Onyeama on the Onitsha-Enugu axis yesterday morning.

The police spokesman in Enugu State, SP Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed the incident in a statement issued yesterday.

He said following the accident, men of the Traffic Division of the Central Police Station Enugu were alerted and they responded promptly.

He said the traffic officers arrived at the scene and took the victims to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Teaching Hospital, Parklane and National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu (NOHE) where the travellers in the Toyota Carina E car were confirmed dead.

Amaraizu added that the remains of the victims were later deposited in the ESUT hospital mortuary.

Meanwhile, four others who sustained serious injuries were still receiving medical attention at the ESUT hospital while a full scale investigation into the incident has commenced, according to Amaraizu.

In Niger State, five people died in the accident along Minna-Suleja road between Lambata/Kwakuti communities, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said.

The Sector Commander, Yusuf Garba, said the accident involved a white BMW with registration BWR 264 SR and Scana truck with registration number ISR 16 XU.

He attributed the accident to over speeding and dangerous overtaking; adding motorists should always obey speed limits as prescribed by the law and also install speed devise in their vehicles to check over speeding.